I brewed my first Mr. Beer West Coast Pale Ale kit almost two week ago. It has been fermenting for about 12 day in temp from 65-70. I didn't get an OG reading. I measured it yesterday and the reading was 1.029. That still seems very high. Is there something wrong with this batch? Should I consider restarting the yeast?
Final Gravity Reading/ Bad Batch
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boydster
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Too little information to tell, really, but 1029 seems like it is probably high. Does the kit have a target final gravity that you can compare? Did you add anything to the kit?
If you went by the kit instructions, according to this post you should have had a starting gravity of around 1.045 and a final gravity around 1.011.
Anytime you are trying to find out if fermentation has stopped, you really need to take 2 gravity readings that are 2-3 days apart to see if there is any change.
If you went by the kit instructions, according to this post you should have had a starting gravity of around 1.045 and a final gravity around 1.011.
Anytime you are trying to find out if fermentation has stopped, you really need to take 2 gravity readings that are 2-3 days apart to see if there is any change.
That is really high for a beer at 12 days
Here's what you should do.
First, calibrate your hydrometer to make sure its not off. You can use tap water as long as its 60 degrees. This most likely won't solve your problem but its something that needs to be done.
Now unless your hydrometer calibration is off by 0.015 you probably need to pitch more yeast. I would get a packet of a strong dry yeast from your lhbs like Safale American or Nottingham
Just for your own benefit, you need to ask yourself these questions.
How old was the yeast?
Was it rehydrated before pitching or just sprinkled on top?
Was the wort adequately cooled(down to fermenting temp) before pitching said yeast?
Was the wort adequately aerated before pitching the yeast?
With the answers to these questions in tow, you may be able to attribute your stuck fermentation to a specific cause and hopefully never make the mistake again
Here's what you should do.
First, calibrate your hydrometer to make sure its not off. You can use tap water as long as its 60 degrees. This most likely won't solve your problem but its something that needs to be done.
Now unless your hydrometer calibration is off by 0.015 you probably need to pitch more yeast. I would get a packet of a strong dry yeast from your lhbs like Safale American or Nottingham
Just for your own benefit, you need to ask yourself these questions.
How old was the yeast?
Was it rehydrated before pitching or just sprinkled on top?
Was the wort adequately cooled(down to fermenting temp) before pitching said yeast?
Was the wort adequately aerated before pitching the yeast?
With the answers to these questions in tow, you may be able to attribute your stuck fermentation to a specific cause and hopefully never make the mistake again
The Mr. Beer Kit did not give any target fg. The kit came with a West Coast Pale Ale HME, and a booster pack. I added a cup of brown sugar, but that's it. I have a feeling I got a bad batch of yeast, or there wasn't enough yeast, the pack seemed small, even for a 2 gal batch. I didn't do anything to the yeast, just sprinkled it on top. I seem to have done everything else correctly.
boydster
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If that's all you did, there is no way you should still be at the gravity you are at. Adding unfermentable sugars or adding so much sugar that the abv kills the yeast before it's done fermenting would have been the only way to have a beer actually end at that FG. Definitely calibrate your hydrometer, as mentioned above, and assuming it is pretty accurate, pitch some new yeast on there.
Mr Beer kits have been known to come with old yeast from time to time. You never really know how long they may have sat on a shelf before making it to you. Also, I don't think they even specify to make sure to cool to pitching temperature before pitching the yeast, which can lead to putting the yeast in to an environment that's too hot and kills them.
Mr Beer kits have been known to come with old yeast from time to time. You never really know how long they may have sat on a shelf before making it to you. Also, I don't think they even specify to make sure to cool to pitching temperature before pitching the yeast, which can lead to putting the yeast in to an environment that's too hot and kills them.
